Born the son of an Irish-born woolbroker in Sydney, Australia, on 29 May 1881, Frederick Septimus Kelly carved out a remarkable dual career as a rower and a musician.

After starting education at Sydney Grammar School, Frederick moved with his family to England where he and his five brothers attended Eton. 

It was at Eton where Frederick first learned his rowing skills. In 1899, he stroked the Eton eight to victory in the Challenge Cup at Henley, the first of many successes. 

But it was at Balliol College Oxford in 1899 where Frederick’s skills as a sculler really developed.

Frederick won the Diamond Sculls in 1902, 1905, and 1903. He also won the Wingfield Sculls in 1903.

On leaving Oxford, Frederick joined the Leander Club in Remenham, Berkshire where he was a member of the crew that won the Grand in 1903, 1904, and 1905, the Steward’s Challenge Cup in 1906.

Contemporaries of Frederick held him in high praise: “his natural sense of poise and rhythm made his boat a live thing under him”

Frederick’s final appearance in a rowing boat came at the 1908 London Olympics where he and the Leander eight took the Gold Medal for Great Britain.

Outside of rowing, Frederick’s other passion was music.

Something of a prodigy, Frederick had shown considerable talent for piano as a child. He could memorize Mozart Sonatas from a young age and began creating his own compositions.

Frederick had graduated from Oxford with a degree in history but decided to seriously pursue music. He studied at Dr Hoch’s Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main.

Frederick made his concert debut in Sydney in 1911 and followed this with a series of London performances the following year.

Contemporary critics believe it took Frederick a while to find his own voice but that his skills as a composer as he matured. Many believe his 1915 piece “Elegy for String Orchestra in Memoriam to Rupert Brooke” to be his best work. It is certainly his best-known.

Frederick had a close friendship with Brooke and both would serve alongside each other and other friends from the artistic community during the First World War. 

Rupert Brooke died from illness aboard a French hospital ship off the island of Skyros, Greece in April 1915. Fredrick was amongst those who buried the poet in a small ceremony on Skyros.

Frederick volunteered with the Royal Naval Division on the outbreak of the First World War. 

He was commissioned as an officer, becoming part of the famous “Latin Club”, a group of officers of the Hood Battalion. As well as Brooke,  the Latin Club featured composer William Denis Browne, the British Prime Minister's second son, Arthur "Ock" Asquith, and the New Zealander Bernard Freyberg, who would later command New Zealand forces in the Second World War.

Frederick served in the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 where he was twice wounded but earned the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry in action. He was also promoted to Lieutenant-Commander around this time.

When not on patrol or fighting, Frederick spent much of his free time at Gallipoli composing. It was here that he composed “Elegy for String Orchestra” as well as several other pieces. 

After evacuating from Gallipoli in December 1915, Frederick spent some time in London before his unit was transferred to France in May. 

Frederick was killed in action, aged 35, at Beaucourt-sur-l’Ancre, while rushing a machine-gun post. His men recovered his body and carried it back over No Man’s Land. He was buried at Martinsart British Military Cemetery.